Cranley struck out $600,000, money that would have gone to an anti-heroin task force and housing assistance for people with code violations. Those programs will be funded but just for one year, instead of continuously.

"Structurally balancing the budget has been a hallmark of my administration," Cranley told The Enquirer.

When the budget came before Council Wednesday, it included $600,000 in revenue from a new program called Paylock under which the city would boot cars whose owners had three or more parking tickets. That money would come in year after year.

Council hated the idea and swapped the money for money from a downtown development fund.

That meant the budget wasn't structurally balanced because that's a one-time solution and the programs were set to be on-going.

So Friday Cranley wielded the red veto stamp.

Council is expected to tweak the budget next week to reflect the changes.

Cranley has used his veto power nine times before. Memorably, he vetoed a series of measures in the 2016 budget that Council wanted, including money for bus shelters and Clifton Market.